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Explorer
Explorers have the opportunity to earn income and gain reputation by making pioneering jumps into unexplored systems, and gathering data on planets, stars and other points of interest within systems. Exploration data can be sold at the Universal Cartographics tab of Starport Services. The first player who sells information about a celestial body will be credited in-game with a "Discovered By" tag on the Galaxy Map.Newsletter #60 For example, one station may know about all the planets in a star system, but not have specific information on the planet surface. If you equip your ship with a surface scanner, you can then sell this complementary information for a small price. If you are able to explore a star system where no data has been reported before, and you collect all data on planet names and also surface information etc, then you will get a much bigger reward. Ships and Equipment Exploration is only possible with dedicated scanners. A Discovery Scanner is required equipment and the Detailed Surface Scanner is also important to make the most out of exploration. Aside from this, the key attributes of an exploration ship are range and endurance. A Fuel Scoop is necessary if you are going on long trip out into the galaxy without any space station to refuel. Similarly, it is useful to upgrade your fuel tank to a larger model if possible. An A-rated Power Plant is almost essential for better heat efficiency while fuel scooping, but it is not always optimal to use the highest class. Compromises in power usage allow for fitting lighter power plants while retaining the heat efficiency. Having one or multiple Auto Field-Maintenance Units installed is extremely important when performing extremely long distance deep space exploring, as accidents do happen, and such accidents may, for example, damage the FSD, thrusters or life support modules, compromising your ship. An AFM fixes modules so critical damage is rare. One of the main hazards of exploring is close encounters with stars, so one or more Heat Sink Launchers may be helpful. It is best to keep only one launcher online and bound to a firegroup to avoid wasting them. To increase your jump range, upgrade your Frame Shift Drive to one with A rating for best range. If possible, having an Engineer (Felicity Farseer is currently the best choice) optimize the drive will increase range significantly. Don't forget though that you can also increase range by removing unnecessary weight. Since pirates can attack even very far from civilized systems, it is advisable to retain some weapons and all of your shielding (although this adds weight). Obviously, you should equip lasers rather than weapons that require ammunition, as you may be several thousand light years from the nearest station with rearming capabilities. Heavy weapons and other combat systems like scanners, hatch breakers, ECMs and interdictors should all be dispensed with. Cargo Racks can be considered optional, though since version 1.4 it is now possible to encounter salvageable wreckage while out in deep space. Confirmed loot from this type of signal source includes small survey data cache, large survey data cache, and occupied cryopod. While small survey data cache sells for ~4500cr, large survey data cache and occupied cryopods can be quite valuable (up to and exceeding 100,000cr). Also, on very rare occasions, less than 1000 ly from Sol you can find artefacts, so having cargo racks can be profitable. The artefacts might be guarded by NPCs. If you have access to planetary landing, install a Planetary Vehicle Hangar, and keep your shield generator, as it is near impossible to land on planets without taking hull damage, and the ability to collect materials for synthesis will allow you to replenish your AFMU as many times as you want. Turn off the cargo hatch and sensors in the modules panel. This lowers heat generation, which is useful while scooping. Remember to also keep the AFMUs and depleted Heat Sink Launchers off when not using them, since this allows a smaller and lighter power plant to be used. Some possible ships for exploration include: *'Sidewinder'. Its capabilities are limited by the fact that there are not enough internal bays for both a surface scanner and a fuel scoop, unless you remove the shield module (not advised). It also suffers from short jump range at just 21.47 ly. *'Hauler'. The Hauler has superior range to the Adder at 28.55 ly when range is maximized, although its fuel tank is not large, so fuel scooping will be required relatively often. *'Adder'. Comes equipped with a large fuel tank as standard. Stripped of all combat equipment it makes a good exploration and rare-goods vessel with a maximum jump range of 27.4 ly. *'Cobra'. The Cobra is a distinct step up from smaller ships, as it has many more internals than needed for a basic exploration loadout, making it much more customisable. Its robust construction and large number of weapon hardpoints are also helpful, but unlikely to be needed as there are very few NPCs outside of inhabited space; you would almost never see any NPC more than 1000 ly out of the bubble. Its maximum range is 28.55 ly ** A Cobra with class 4 rating A thrusters is fast. Submit to interdictions and turbo boost away. FSD will be back online in seconds. Chances of damage from taking fire are extremely low so you don't need shields or weapons, which saves mass. A maxed out Cobra with just a heat sink dispenser, fuel scoop, scanners and 2x 16t fuel tanks (and 2 empty bays) gives a maximum jump range of 23.34 ly, refuel needed every ~250 ly (fastest routes) / ~600 ly (economical routes). 4x 16t fuel tanks gives a jump range of 20.67 ly, refuel needed every ~430 ly / 1000+ ly. The Cobra is useful in short explorer trips under 2000 ly away, an easy way to make millions fast. ** It should be noted the above paragraph is an individual explorer's experience, and yours may vary - Class 4 A thrusters are very expensive, and mostly unnecessary for explorers since interdictions are incredibly rare in such a small ship outside of inhabited space (PvP interdictions at least). If you are interdicted (which you shouldn't be, don't hang around in a system for longer than you have to if there's other ships present) you can escape with relative ease in a Cobra. *'Asp Explorer'. The Asp Explorer is perhaps the ultimate in long-range self-sufficiency. It is large enough that you don't need to make many compromises in equipment selection - you can fit enough weapons to overcome any realistic obstacle alongside massive fuel tanks and auto-repair equipment. The Asp also has the second highest possible jump range at 37 ly (behind the Anaconda). *'Lakon Type-6'. The Type-6 has the advantage of very high unladen range 30.19 ly and has been used successfully in some very long range exploration trips. Prior to v1.2, it famously ran 'hot' - making fuel scooping an even bigger challenge unless an A-rated power plant was used. In v1.2, however, running temperatures were brought more in line with other ships. It is also one of the cheapest ships (alongside the Cobra MkIV) with enough compartments to accommodate a fuel scoop, scanners, 2 AMFUs, shields, and a planetary vehicle hangar. *'Diamondback Explorer'. The Diamondback Explorer introduced with Powerplay update is an excellent explorer ship, having the highest base jump range of all ships in the game at 14.15 ly, and 33-34 ly when upgraded. The ship is equipped with a 32 ton fuel tank and has enough internal compartments for all the necessary exploration equipment. Compared to Asp Explorer, it's cheaper to buy and cheaper to outfit due to smaller module size. When outfitted right it also runs very cool, capable of safely scooping any stars at maximum rate. Some commanders who are looking to maximize the Ly traveled per hour feel that the limitation of not being able to fit a fuel scoop larger than a class 4 provides slower than desired fuel scooping speed for the fuel tank size. *'Anaconda '''is a great explorer ship with a plethora of internal compartments and great jump range for its size. It has the highest jump range in-game with a maximum jump range of over '''41 ly'. It can fit a Class 7 Fuel Scoop (allowing for a very fast refuel), a bunch of SRVs, several AFMUs, both discovery and surface scanners, shield generator, and plenty of heat sinks. However, the price of a fully outfitted Anaconda can exceed 200 million credits, which makes it an endgame explorer. It's also much less manoeuvrable in Supercruise compared to other ships from this list, and landing on a high-gravity planets can be tricky due to somewhat weak lateral thrusters. Remember that the maximum ranges listed here don't include any modules, so outfitting the ship for exploration usually shaves off 4-6 Ly of range. Far enough from civilized space NPCs are an extreme rarity and eager explorers can bin their weapons and other systems, such as shields, to get more jump range. You may also want to install systems of lesser class than your ship allows to save on weight. D-rating systems are the lightest in weight, adding to jump range. The Engineers update introduced many ways to modify and optimize ships for exploration. Due to this, many ships previously incapable of large jumps are now very viable choices. The Python, for example, can achieve ranges in excess of 36ly with a level 5 FSD enhancement, making it a very comfortable exploration ship. Properly outfitted and modded, it can have the utility of an Anaconda with the dexterity of the Asp. Of course, normal exploration ships can be pushed to even greater ranges (in excess of 55ly in case of the Anaconda). Visit http://www.edshipyard.com or http://coriolis.io/ to get more info on ship customisation and plan your loadouts well ahead. Rewards for exploring The value of exploration data depends on several factors: * The nature of the celestial object. The most valuable exploration data is on Earth-like planets and on Water Worlds that are candidates for terraforming. The least is on small, rocky and/or icy planets. * The mass of the celestial object. Heavier objects are somewhat more valuable than ligher objects of the same class. * The quality of the data. You get some value (~500CR) simply for locating the object with the Discovery Scanner. Scanning it increases this value significantly. Scanning it while your ship has a Detailed Surface Scanner doubles the value of the data you acquire. * A further 50% bonus if you are the first commander to scan the celestial object with a Detailed Surface Scanner. Additionally, you get your commander name against the object as the "First Discoverer" in the System Map screen. * The distance from the system explored doesn't appear to have any effect. However, you can't sell any data at stations within 20 ly from its source. Ranks The player may gain exploration ranks with The Pilots Federation based upon the amount of money made by selling cartographic data acquired in exploration to Universal Cartographics.Data is lost if the player's ship is destroyed.Data transfers when the player switches to a different ship. Exploration progression can also be gained by driving an SRV (the further from Sol you are, the quicker you gain progression this way), and by collecting materials on the surface of a planet or moon, with a significant bonus the first time you discover a material.Dev Update (03/12/2015) -Note- Some of these values are for versions up to 1.1 and need updating for 1.4. The values are also approximate since they cannot be confirmed directly through the game -Note- Tips for Exploring Pay close attention to your destination systems in the Galaxy Map. The best systems are those capable of supporting habitable planets, which are classes F, G and K - that is to say, the most Sol-like systems. A-class stars can also have habitable planets, however this is much less likely. Classes O and B are almost always too young and hot to have good planets to explore, while classes L and M and below are very cool so where they have planets, they are likely to be low value ice and rock-ice worlds. Multiple systems are a risky bet - firstly they may be less likely to have planets - and if they do, they may be a long distance away. Black holes and neutron stars, however, do net quite the amount of credits, especially if you are the first to discover them. Herbig and T Tauri-type stars almost never have anything more than occasional gas planets. Also bear in mind how well a destination star will fare with your Fuel Scoop. Cooler stars are easier to scoop fuel from without overheating, while classes F and above can be dangerously hot. Fuel scooping will only work with main sequence stars; these are stars with the stellar types O, B, A, F, G, K and M. Astronomers often use the mnemonic "Oh Be A Fine Girl/Guy, Kiss Me" to remember the main sequence stellar classes in order of temperature.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_sequence Identifying terraformable planets, which are the most valuable, is important. You can look at the system map as soon as you have fired your Discovery Scanner upon entering a system, which will show images of all stars and planets in the system. All planets have a distinctive sound that plays while hovering over them. This can help you identify good prospects. Potential candidates are brown or blue with rich surface features, even clouds, while featureless white disks are typically ice worlds of no value. Earth-likes and water worlds are quite obvious on the system map, especially if listening to the sound they make. Terraformables, however, do not differ from normal planets at first glance, so they need to be scanned. The mass of the planets and distance from the star are the next key factors. The size of Mars is approximately the low boundary of terraformability, which is half the radius of Earth and tenth its mass. Next, pay attention to the size of the star and the distance of candidate planets and try to work out whether they are in the habitable zone of the star. This is approximately 1AU for stars of 1 solar mass, and can be determined for other stars using the inverse-square law. For example, for a star of 2 solar masses, it's the square root of 2, or ~1.4AU. Many terraformable metal planets may seem worthless at first glance, but if their temperature is right, they are potential candidates. Other factors are often negligible: even an atmosphereless planet can be a candidate. Temperatures between 250K and 300K are most ideal, however there are extremes. Water worlds, for example, which are somewhat valuable themselves even if not terraformable, can be ridiculously hot at over 600K. This is often compensated by their atmospheric pressure, which can reach over 1000 atm. Gas planets have all similar value, regardless of whether they have life or not. Also, in many systems (particularly smaller, cooler ones) it is possible to combine scanning and fuel-scooping. Simply submerge yourself in the stellar gases and start to scoop, allowing a healthy margin of safety (e.g. keeping yourself at ~60% heat). Then you can scan nearby objects up to ~50 while your tanks are refilling. Scanning works uninterrupted even through stars, so remaining stationary while scooping is completely viable. It is possible to discover non-sequence objects by turning off all star types in the map. Look for shadowy dots in the galaxy, zoom to them and turn on the star types to set a course. Usually you'll find a black hole in the system. Black holes also stand out in Realistic mode. Notes Gallery File:Exploration_tutorials_for_Elite_Dangerous_1.03 References